1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic small arm and specifically to a handgun including a frame; a slide mounted on said frame for a linear reciprocatable movement thereon; a hammer pivotally mounted to the frame to pivot between a cocked and a firing position, which hammer projects into the path of movement of said slide and includes a detent member having at least one abutment shoulder section; a hammer rod spring adapted to bias said hammer towards its firing position; a trigger pivotally mounted to the frame and a trigger rod linked to the trigger and guided to move upon a pulling of the trigger in a direction generally towards the hammer, which trigger rod includes an abutment surface; a rotatable spring biassed sear arranged to cooperate with the trigger rod and with the detent member, and having a first and a second control edge; which first control edge is adapted to cooperate with the at least one abutment shoulder section of the detent member in order to lock the hammer against the biassing force of the hammer rod spring in its cocked position, and which second control edge is adapted to cooperate with the abutment surface of the trigger rod, such that upon a trigger initiated movement of the trigger rod in a direction towards the hammer the abutment surface urges the second control edge to cause a rotation of the sear against its spring bias to rotate the first control edge away from and out of contact with the at least one abutment member section allowing the hammer to snap into its firing position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, hand held small arms are divided into two groups, namely pistols and revolvers. Each group has its advantages and disadvantages. Pistols have a higher firing power, i.e. they can carry in their magazine more rounds than a revolver, generally termed six-shooter. If desired, pistols can be equipped with a manually operable safety catch for a single action shooting which is active when the hammer is in its cocked position. Furthermore, the reloading, i.e. changing of the magazine is much faster than in case of revolvers.
Revolvers, in turn, display a constant resistance when pulling the trigger which increases the accuracy when firing a single shot. Further, they operate only in the double action mode. Also, it is possible to manually cock the hammer for one single aimed shot.